C&A awards French advertising to Publicis Etoile

PARIS--European clothes retailer C&A has chosen Publicis Etoile, Paris to handle its advertising business in France, previously handled in-house. No budget was disclosed.

The move comes on the heels of a decision by the Belgium-based retailer to give its local markets more authority over marketing decisions. In France, C&A operates 51 stores, mainly in the Greater Paris region.

The new campaign from Publicis Etoile, set to roll out in early 2001, is likely to represent a departure from previous strategy which has focused on product advertising, say company executives.

C&A, which operates about 400 retail outlets in eight European countries, recently announced plans to close its 109 shops in the U.K. C&A operates retail outlets in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, all of which have been given a green light to move advertising out of house.